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March 15, 2010, 7:10 amLab Tech Used The Cocaine Evidence Instead of Testing ItJaxon Van Derbeken Chronicle Staff Writer Monday, March 15, 2010
Suzuki, Lea / The Chronicle
Suspicions of stolen cocaine and shoddy work have led police to shut down the crime lab. It took San Francisco police two months to launch a criminal probe into a drug lab technician suspected of stealing cocaine evidence, even though her sister had told the lab she feared the woman had taken home a vial full of the drug, The Chronicle has learned. The delay may have doomed scores of narcotics prosecutions in San Francisco, because drugs were tested at the lab after suspicions arose about the technician and the Police Department's ability to ensure the integrity of seized evidence. "It's like peeling an onion," said Public Defender Jeff Adachi, whose attorneys represent most of the drug defendants in San Francisco. "Every time you pull off a layer, there's more problems." The lab technician, Deborah Madden, 60, has not been charged with a crime associated with any theft of evidence at the lab, where she worked for 29 years until she retired Dec. 8. But suspicions that she stole and used cocaine - and her accusations that others in the lab were "sloppy" in their work - prompted police to shut down the drug lab Tuesday. By the end of the week, prosecutors had been forced to drop more than 90 drug cases, and police were trying to line up enough outside labs to test the drugs that officers seize in dozens of arrests every day.
Sister found cocaine According to law enforcement officials with knowledge of the case, Madden's sister found cocaine in what appeared to be a lab vial at Madden's San Mateo home in December. Madden was away in an alcohol rehabilitation program at the time, said the officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the criminal investigation is continuing. The sister contacted the police lab with her concerns Dec. 16, the officials said. However, before police could examine the vial, the sister turned it over to Madden's rehabilitation counselor, who destroyed it, sources said. The sister's account was detailed in a memo Dec. 17 by Madden's boss, Lois Woodworth, that was routed to the risk management section of the department, which deals with legal matters. The memo was not sent to the chief's office, for reasons that are unclear. Woodworth started to check evidence that Madden had worked on and discovered that a previously sealed package of powdered cocaine appeared to have been reopened, officials said. Later in December, Woodworth began an internal audit, reviewing 25 randomly selected evidence samples of cocaine. She discovered shortages of powdered cocaine in seven samples, including a 2-gram discrepancy in one.
Police probe delay Woodworth reported her findings sometime in late December or early January to her supervisors at the lab. But it wasn't until Feb. 22 that the Police Department's special investigations division opened a criminal probe into Madden, the department said. Chief George Gascón said he first learned about the lab problem that day. He said last week that he has ordered an internal investigation into how the matter was handled. So far, he says, he does not know why there was a delay. "That's why there's an investigation," he said. Police investigators met with prosecutors in District Attorney Kamala Harris' office Feb. 23, the day after the probe began, according to a timeline the Police Department issued last week. Prosecutors told the investigators, who were seeking charges against Madden, that there wasn't enough to build a case, said district attorney spokesman Brian Buckelew. On Feb. 26, Madden gave a two-hour statement to police in which she accused fellow lab technicians of "sloppy work," saying they consistently lost or mishandled evidence, law enforcement officials say.
Consuming 'spillage' She also admitted to consuming what she called "spillage" from cocaine seized in five samples of evidence, but did not specify which evidence packages the drug had come from, the sources say. That is a problem for prosecutors hoping to build a case, because they don't know which evidence samples to examine to prove that a crime happened. Madden told the police investigators that she started using cocaine in October and took only residue that was left over on the wax paper that technicians use when weighing samples, officials said. Then, on March 3, San Francisco police officers and San Mateo County sheriff's deputies searched Madden's San Mateo home. They allegedly found a gun and a small amount of cocaine. They arrested Madden, who is not allowed to have a weapon because she is on probation from a 2008 misdemeanor conviction for domestic violence. Neither Madden nor her attorney, Paul DeMeester, has commented on the suspicions about the lab thefts. DeMeester said only that results of tests Madden performed "should not be affected by any personal use."
Conviction controversy The Police Department's handling of Madden's case has come under scrutiny in other areas. Gascón admitted last week that police had failed to notify the district attorney about Madden's conviction, which prosecutors in turn would have been obliged to tell defense attorneys. A defendant's lawyer could use the information in court to call Madden's work into question. Gascón called it a breakdown in communication; Adachi believes it was intentional. The public defender said the most serious question in the lab scandal is whether the department failed to secure its evidence, maintaining a "chain of custody." "If the chain of custody was in fact broken, it could jeopardize hundreds of cases," Adachi said. "Not only in cases where she allegedly tampered with evidence, but all of them."
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Last Edited: March 15, 2010, 10:06 am March 14, 2010, 11:44 pmBigger people weigh on city budgetsMarch 14, 2010 Bigger people weigh on city budgets Communities have to buy pricey stretchers GINA DAMRON
The growing waistlines of patients have prompted some metro Detroit communities and an ambulance service to buy or look into motorized stretchers for firefighters and medics. If the Madison Heights City Council adopts its proposed 2010-11 budget, the Fire Department will get two battery-powered stretchers at a cost of about $24,000. Superior Ambulance Service -- which serves several metro Detroit cities, including Riverview, Detroit and Roseville -- is in the process of replacing all of its stretchers with motorized ones. The Royal Oak Fire Department bought one of the stretchers about 18 months ago. And Southfield -- which was used as a model by Madison Heights when officials started considering the switch -- has used them for five years. "There are so many obese people now, that it is not rare for us to go out and pick up a 300-pound person or a 400-pound person," Southfield Fire Chief Peter Healy said. Officials say the stretchers, which typically can carry up to about 700 pounds, reduce knee, shoulder and back injuries. Cities such as Royal Oak and Madison Heights hope they also will reduce worker compensation costs. "We put a lot of money into training these people, and we want to have them here full-term," Healy said. He said that when the city started transporting patients in 2005, workers' comp cost Southfield about $75,000. The city, which also has implemented a morning stretching program for firefighters, saw that number drop to $58,000 by 2008. Ken Sink, general manager of Superior Ambulance, said that runs for overweight patients account for only about 3% of all calls, but cause 30% of the injuries and workers' comp claims. Madison Heights Fire Chief Kevin Scheid said firefighters have been injured from repeatedly lifting people. The city also plans to spend $2,600 on two power chairs that help get patients down stairs. Chris Way, director of marketing for EMS at Stryker -- the Kalamazoo-based manufacturer of medical devices that has sold many cities their equipment -- said two-thirds of the stretchers the company now sells are powered. Way, who co-founded the company, said the trend is up. The motorized equipment, he said, reduces injuries and increases safety for patients. "Anything we can do to reduce the stress on their bodies, I think will be beneficial," Scheid said. "You just hate to see the guys hurting themselves." Last Edited: March 14, 2010, 11:49 pm March 14, 2010, 7:36 pmMother wants to be the fattest woman in the worldMarch 14, 2010, 6:08 pmRobert Gibbs Health Care Will Be Law Next WeekMarch 14, 2010, 2:57 pmPrincipal signed Filipino teachers to buy and sell makeupPrincipal signed Filipino teachers to buy, sell makeup Liz Bowie Baltimore Sun March 14, 2010
The principal of a Baltimore City high school recruited seven Filipino teachers on her staff to buy and resell thousands of dollars of Mary Kay cosmetics, a business arrangement the teachers entered reluctantly but felt would keep them in good standing with their boss.
Principal Janice Williams of the Institute of Business and Entrepreneurship high school in West Baltimore sometimes went to the teachers' classrooms last school year to ask for their credit cards to purchase lipstick, perfume, foundation and eye makeup, according to three of the teachers, who said they never intended to use the products and were unable to resell most of them. Williams, who is an independent sales director for Mary Kay, stood to gain financially from each transaction. Documents obtained from the school system under a Freedom of Information Act request show that she was the subject of an internal investigation last year, but it is unclear what, if any, action was taken against her. She has remained at her job at IBE. The city school board's ethics code prohibits salaried employees from using "the prestige of their offices for their own personal gain or that of another." A violation of the rule is grounds for disciplinary action, including dismissal. In addition, the city's school board rules state that "principals shall devote themselves exclusively to the work of the school during office hours." Williams denied to The Baltimore Sun that she solicited teachers to sell Mary Kay, saying, "It absolutely did not happen." "If you have information that I attempted to recruit any Filipino teachers, you are misinformed," she said, declining to comment further. But the three Filipino teachers, who asked not to be identified for fear of retribution, said they collectively bought more than $2,000 worth of cosmetics and provided documentation of the purchases to The Sun. The teachers said they did not want to purchase the products, and only agreed to act as Mary Kay salespeople because they believed it would put them in good favor with Williams. "It is in our culture that if your boss asks you to do something, then you will do it," said Aileen Mercado, a Filipino teacher who is a Baltimore Teachers Union board member and has spoken with several teachers who bought the products. Seven of the 12 Filipino teachers at IBE last school year purchased Mary Kay, according to the teachers. The city, which currently employs about 600 Filipino teachers, began hiring them five years ago when school districts were struggling to find certified teachers. The Philippines became a top source for teachers, because of its surplus of education majors and its English-speaking population. The teachers, some with years of experience, came here for better pay. Vulnerable to exploitation Across the nation, Filipino teachers have become victims of both the recruiters who brought them here and the failure of school systems to protect them, according to the American Federation of Teachers, which has begun a national campaign to expose some of the injustices."Filipino teachers are very vulnerable to pressure," Mercado said, because they must ask their principals to provide letters of support when their visas are renewed. If they get an unfavorable performance review, their chances of remaining in the country could be hindered. "At the back of our minds, that visa thing is always hanging there," she said. In an e-mail written to city schools CEO Andrés Alonso that was obtained by The Sun, another city principal expressed frustration in September over the school system's lack of action to discipline Williams. "In their eyes nothing has been done as a result of their courage to expose the truth," Medfield Elementary School Principal Anthony Japzon, who is half-Filipino, wrote of several of the teachers who cooperated with the school system's legal department. Several sources who worked with Williams said it was well known that she sold Mary Kay products because several years ago she drove a pink Mary Kay Cadillac. The Cadillac is a perk the company provides to its most successful salespeople, according to Crayton Webb, director of corporate communications for Mary Kay. Williams no longer has the car. The Filipino teachers said Williams told them they could make good money selling the products because they could charge twice what they paid for them. But the teachers said they knew they would make no money because none of the people in their tight-knit community wanted to buy what they considered expensive cosmetics. Williams is an independent sales director, according to Webb. Directors, he said, receive bonuses and commissions on the products that are purchased by the salespeople who work for them. Therefore, Williams would have benefited financially each time a purchase was made. The three teachers said Williams recruited them in different ways. In one case, they went to a Mary Kay party at the principal's house; in another, they simply signed a document in the principal's office. They said when they signed up the first time, they put down $100. "What my thinking was that night was, I will buy just one time," one teacher said. She said Williams didn't pressure her to purchase the products, but she felt it was in her best interest to do so. But a few months later, the principal came to her and suggested that if she wanted to "maintain her status" as a Mary Kay sales consultant then she would have to make a $200 purchase, the teacher said. That continued, the teacher said, throughout the year. In total, she bought $600 worth of products.
A second teacher said she was sitting in her classroom writing a lesson plan one day when the principal came in and asked for a payment. She said she didn't have cash so she gave Williams her credit card so that she could make the purchases. The third teacher said she spent about $1,000 that school year on Mary Kay products, most of which were either mailed back to the Philippines to relatives to try to sell or are still in her closet at home. "Ms. Williams would call and e-mail teachers" to remind them to keep making purchases, a teacher said. "How can I refuse the principal?" one of the teachers said. One teacher provided The Sun with copies of her bank statements showing more than $600 in Mary Kay purchases in November and December 2008 and May 2009. A second teacher provided statements showing payments to Mary Kay of almost $1,000. They also provided copies of e-mails from Williams, which came from her Mary Kay e-mail address, asking them to contribute or thanking them for their contribution that returned them to "active status." The Filipino teachers said they do not know any American teachers in the building who were recruited, but they can't be sure that they were not. Word about the Mary Kay situation spread through the community of Filipino teachers, and some began questioning the propriety of Williams' alleged actions, the three teachers said. According to documents provided by the school system under an FOIA request, Japzon intervened on behalf of the teachers and counseled them to cooperate with the system's legal department. The teachers said that five of them went to the legal department and were interviewed in detail in July about buying Mary Kay products. In the e-mail Japzon wrote to Alonso on Sept. 9 in which he expressed concerns about the investigation, the principal went into some of the details about the case and said he would provide more if needed. "I believe that these teachers did the right thing by cooperating with City Schools' legal department and now they are in a hostile environment and subject to retaliation," Japzon wrote to Alonso. 'Right will prevail' Japzon told Alonso that he had assured the teachers that though principals in the Philippines probably would not have been disciplined, in the United States "right will prevail over stature and economic class.""It is not an exaggeration to suggest that the overwhelming majority of our 500 Filipino teachers are familiar with this incident," he wrote. "They are waiting for our school system to do the right thing, as I know that it will under your leadership." Alonso responded to Japzon the next day: "This matter, as you already know, is in the hands of the legal department. I expect it to be handled in a thorough and just manner." The CEO wrote that he could not discuss a personnel issue but said that he was "sensitive to your sense of responsibility to a community" and that he wanted to know if there were specific evidence that the teachers were in a hostile environment. A few hours later, according to e-mails obtained by The Sun, Alonso exchanged e-mails with Tammy Turner, the school system's in-house attorney. In the exchange, Turner said the investigation was complete and information had been sent to Jerome Jones, acting head of the school system'sHuman Relations Department. A meeting on the matter was set for the next day. Alonso also asked to see a packet of information, then wrote, "I assume issue of principals targeting Filipino teachers is addressed." Turner replied, "Yes, sir." Japzon declined to comment on his role in helping the Filipino teachers or on the details of the allegations. Other e-mails from October show that Williams requested and was given the names of the teachers who had gone to the administration to report what they believed to be her improper behavior. The e-mails discuss a meeting that was planned with the principal, her supervisors and the teachers and it appears to have been a meeting that was called because of the investigation. Because parts of the e-mails obtained by The Sun were redacted by the school system, it is unclear whether Williams was punished. Alonso would not comment. "We consider this matter a personnel issue and our protocol is that we do not discuss a personnel issue," said Edie House, a spokeswoman for the school system. In the corporate world, managers are discouraged from conducting business with employees, said Charles M. Elson, director of the John L. Weinberg Center for Corporate Governance at the University of Delaware. While he wouldn't comment on the specific case, he said, "Most companies discourage that sort of action because it introduces something into the employee-employer relationship." He said it is "not a good practice." Webb, the Mary Kay spokesman, said the company expects its salespeople to "hold themselves to the highest ethical standards. We take our reputation and the strength of our brand very seriously," he said. When the company receives firsthand complaints, it investigates, he said, adding that salespeople can return the products within a year for a 90 percent refund. In the past year, the AFT, a national teachers union representing primarily urban teachers including those in Baltimore, has begun investigating how Filipino teachers are being taken advantage of in school systems across the country. "The degree of exploitation and the methods of exploitation have varied around the country, but the number of examples is quite disturbing," said Shannon Lederer, assistant director of international affairs for the AFT. While many of the teachers have been taken advantage of by international recruiting firms that charge $5,000 to $8,000 for their placement in a school district, the teachers have experienced problems with school systems as well, Lederer said. Mercado, the local union representative, said she wanted the story about the Filipino teachers at IBE in Baltimore to become public so that principals would stop taking advantage of them. She said the teachers also need to learn to stand up for themselves. "It is not right for the Filipino teachers to be pushed around. ... If you are experiencing something, then you have to speak up," she said. March 14, 2010, 2:32 pmObama Not Backing Down On Comments about Supreme CourtWhite House Stands Ground On High Court Criticism Obama Administration Not Backing Away From Comments POSTED: 11:59 am EDT March 14, 2010
WASHINGTON -- The White House on Sunday defended President Barack Obama's scathing criticism of a Supreme Court decision that allows unions and corporations to funnel unlimited dollars to political campaigns. Senior adviser David Axelrod and press secretary Robert Gibbs refused to retreat from criticism Obama leveled during his State of the Union address, with six of the nine members of the court sitting a few feet in front of him. The two White House officials defended Obama's statement that the ruling was seriously flawed. "Under the ruling of the Supreme Court, any lobbyist could go in to any legislator and say, 'If you don't vote our way on this bill, we're going to run a million-dollar campaign against you in your district.' And that is a threat to our democracy," Axelrod said. "It's going to further reduce the voice of the American people, and it's something we have to push back vigorously on." Chief Justice John Roberts said this week that Obama's unusually open criticism was "very troubling" and questioned whether justices should attend the annual address. "To the extent the State of the Union has degenerated into a political pep rally, I'm not sure why we're there," said Roberts, a nominee of Republican President George W. Bush who joined the court in 2005. Roberts said anyone is free to criticize the court and that some have an obligation to do so because of their positions. "So I have no problems with that," he said. "On the other hand, there is the issue of the setting, the circumstances and the decorum. The image of having the members of one branch of government standing up, literally surrounding the Supreme Court, cheering and hollering while the court, according the requirements of protocol, has to sit there expressionless, I think is very troubling." Breaking from tradition, Obama used his January speech to criticize the court's recent decision allowing corporations and unions to freely spend money on political ads for or against specific candidates. "With all due deference to the separation of powers, the Supreme Court reversed a century of law to open the floodgates for special interests -- including foreign corporations -- to spend without limit in our elections," Obama said. Justice Samuel Alito was the only justice to respond at the time, shaking his head and appearing to say, "not true," as Obama continued. Gibbs defended Obama's remarks, as he has already. "What's important is that, in the coming elections, the Supreme Court has basically ruled that anonymous political contributions can be given, and those contributions can be used to weigh in specifically for the election or defeat of a member of Congress or a senator," he said. Axelrod spoke on ABC's "This Week," and Gibbs appeared to "Fox News Sunday." March 13, 2010, 9:42 pmAppeals Court says 'Under God' not a prayerBob Egelko Chronicle Staff Writer
Friday, March 12, 2010
"To be a real American, you believe in God, and the judiciary unfortunately sometimes can't be trusted to uphold our constitutional rights when you're a disenfranchised minority." -- Michael Newdow, a Sacramento atheist who filed suit, on the messages sent by the ruling.
Photo: Rich Pedroncelli, File / AP (03-11) 17:32 PST SAN FRANCISCO -- The federal court that touched off a furor in 2002 by declaring the words "under God" in the Pledge of Allegiance to be an unconstitutional endorsement of religion took another look at the issue Thursday and said the phrase invokes patriotism, not religious faith. The daily schoolroom ritual is not a prayer, but instead "a recognition of our founders' political philosophy that a power greater than the government gives the people their inalienable rights," said the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco in a 2-1 ruling. "Thus, the pledge is an endorsement of our form of government, not of religion or any particular sect." The dissenting judge, Stephen Reinhardt, said statements by members of Congress who added "under God" to the pledge in 1954 show conclusively that it was intended to "indoctrinate our nation's children with a state-held religious belief." In a separate ruling, the same panel upheld the use of the national motto, "In God We Trust," on coins and currency. The language is patriotic and ceremonial, not religious, the court said. Reinhardt reluctantly joined the 3-0 decision, saying he was bound by the court's newly established precedent in the pledge case. Atheist sued Both suits were filed by Michael Newdow, a Sacramento atheist who has brought numerous challenges to government-sponsored religious invocations. He said he would appeal the rulings to the full appellate court and the U.S. Supreme Court, but was not optimistic. The rulings sent two messages, Newdow said: "To be a real American, you believe in God, and the judiciary unfortunately sometimes can't be trusted to uphold our constitutional rights when you're a disenfranchised minority." Former Justice Department lawyer Gregory Katsas, who represented the Bush administration in the pledge case when the court heard it in 2007, heard a different message: that "one nation, under God" suggests a government that "is limited and bound to respect individual rights." Swift reaction Newdow first challenged the Pledge of Allegiance in 2000 on behalf of his daughter, a student in a Sacramento-area elementary school. The appeals court ruled in June 2002 that the addition of "under God" was religiously motivated and sent "a message to nonbelievers that they are outsiders," in violation of the constitutional separation of church and state. Congress reacted furiously, passing a resolution with virtually no dissenting votes that denounced the decision. The court put its ruling on hold until the case reached the Supreme Court, which sidestepped the constitutional issue and ruled that Newdow could not represent his daughter's interests because her mother had legal custody. Newdow then refiled the suit on behalf of the parent of a kindergartner in the Sacramento suburb of Rio Linda. He won the first round before a federal judge in 2005, but a new appeals court panel issued a 193-page ruling Thursday upholding the pledge. Pledge isn't prayer In the majority opinion, Judge Carlos Bea acknowledged that "the words 'under God' have religious significance," but said they do not "convert the pledge into a prayer." Reinhardt, a member of the 2002 panel that found the language unconstitutional, said Thursday's majority ignored overwhelming evidence of religious motivation by the 1954 Congress. He cited statements by numerous lawmakers denouncing atheistic communism and declaring a belief in God to be part of the American way of life. Reinhardt also pointed to President Dwight Eisenhower's signing statement that millions of schoolchildren would now proclaim "the dedication of our nation and its people to the Almighty." During the same period, Reinhardt said, Congress adopted "In God We Trust" as the national motto, ordered it inscribed on paper money and established an annual National Prayer Breakfast. By inserting religious language into the pledge, Reinhardt said, "we abandoned our historic principle that secular matters were for the state and matters of faith were for the church." March 13, 2010, 9:07 pmWoman, 92, charged with murdering husband, 98Woman, 92, charged with murder ALICIA WOOD Sydney Morning Herald March 14, 2010 A 92-YEAR-OLD woman has been charged with murdering her 98-year-old husband in their Sydney home. Clara Tang, of Surry Hills, was assisted by a Mandarin interpreter when she faced Parramatta Local Court yesterday via video link. Police had found her husband in the lounge room of their home in Connaught Apartments, on Liverpool Street, about 9.40pm on Friday. He had head injuries. A relative had contacted police and expressed concerns for his welfare. Mrs Tang, who did not apply for bail, showed no recollection of what had transpired in the apartment when she appeared in court. Magistrate Kevin Flack agreed that MrsTang was apparently suffering from severe dementia. She was taken to a psychiatric facility. Mrs Tang will appear in Central Local Court tomorrow. Last Edited: March 13, 2010, 9:10 pm March 13, 2010, 8:57 pmDog swallows $20,000 gemMarch 13, 2010, 7:52 pmDaylight Savings Time ExplainedMarch 13, 2010, 7:45 pmMan shows up drunk at DUI sentencingMarch 13, 2010, 9:15 amNew pictures of John Lennon appear after 40 yearsMarch 13, 2010, 5:59 amWhen Students Don't Learn Fire the ParentsMarch 12, 2010 06:44 PM New Rule: Let's Not Fire the Teachers When Students Don't Learn -- Let's Fire the Parents 
Bill Maher Host of HBO's "Real Time with Bill Maher"
New Rule: Let's not fire the teachers when students don't learn - let's fire the parents. Last week President Obama defended the firing of every single teacher in a struggling high school in a poor Rhode Island neighborhood. And the kids were outraged. They said, "Why blame our teachers?" and "Who's President Obama?" I think it was Whitney Houston who said, "I believe that children are our future - teach them well and let them lead the way." And that's the last sound piece of educational advice this country has gotten - from a crack head in the '80's. Yes, America has found its new boogeyman to blame for our crumbling educational system. It's just too easy to blame the teachers, what with their cushy teachers' lounges, their fat-cat salaries, and their absolute authority in deciding who gets a hall pass. We all remember high school - canning the entire faculty is a nationwide revenge fantasy. Take that, Mrs. Crabtree! And guess what? We're chewing gum and no, we didn't bring enough for everybody. But isn't it convenient that once again it turns out that the problem isn't us, and the fix is something that doesn't require us to change our behavior or spend any money. It's so simple: Fire the bad teachers, hire good ones from some undisclosed location, and hey, while we're at it let's cut taxes more. It's the kind of comprehensive educational solution that could only come from a completely ignorant people. Firing all the teachers may feel good - we're Americans, kicking people when they're down is what we do - but it's not really their fault. Now, undeniably, there are some bad teachers out there. They don't know the material, they don't make things interesting, they have sex with the same kid every day instead of spreading the love around... But every school has crappy teachers. Yale has crappy teachers - they must, they gave us George Bush. According to all the studies, it doesn't matter what teachers do. Although everyone appreciates foreplay. What matters is what parents do. The number one predictor of a child's academic success is parental involvement. It doesn't even matter if your kid goes to private or public school. So save the twenty grand a year and treat yourself to a nice vacation away from the little <snip>s. It's also been proven that just having books in the house makes a huge difference in a child's development. If your home is adorned with nothing but Hummel dolls, DVD's, and bleeding Jesuses, congratulations, you've just given your children the gift of Duh. Sarah Palin said recently she wrote on her hand because her father used to do it. I rest my case. When there are no books in the house, and there are no parents in the house, you know who raises the kids? That's right, the television. Kids aren't keeping up with their studies; they're keeping up with the Kardashians. We're allowing the television, as babysitter, to turn us into a nation of slutty idiots. By the way, one sign your 9-year-old may be watching too much One Tree Hill: if she has an imaginary friend with benefits. March 12, 2010, 11:44 pm43 Minutes Of Angry Hillary ClintonClinton Slams Israel's Settlement Plans: 'Deeply Negative Signal' MATTHEW LEE | 03/12/10 09:26 PM | WASHINGTON — Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton on Friday delivered a stinging rebuke to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for his government's announcement this week of new Jewish housing in east Jerusalem, calling it "a deeply negative signal" for the Mideast peace process and ties with the U.S. The State Department said Clinton spoke to Netanyahu by phone for 43 minutes to vent U.S. frustration with Tuesday's announcement that cast a pall over a visit to Israel by Vice President Joe Biden and endangered indirect peace talks with the Palestinians that the Obama administration had announced just a day earlier.
The length and unusually blunt tone of Clinton's call underscored the administration's concern about prospects for the negotiations it has been trying to organize for more than a year and its anger over Israel's refusal to heed U.S. appeals not to make provocative gestures. "The announcement of the settlements on the very day that the vice president was there was insulting," Clinton said in an interview with CNN Friday. "It was just really a very unfortunate and difficult moment for everyone, the U.S., our vice president who had gone to reassert America's strong support for Israeli security, and I regret deeply that that occurred and made that view known." Clinton called "to make clear that the United States considered the announcement to be a deeply negative signal about Israel's approach to the bilateral relationship and counter to the spirit of the vice president's trip," State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley told reporters. "The secretary said she could not understand how this happened, particularly in light of the United States' strong commitment to Israel's security and she made clear that the Israeli government needed to demonstrate not just through words but through specific actions that they are committed to this relationship and to the peace process," he said. The harsh criticism of America's closest Mideast ally and questions about its commitment to the U.S.-Israeli relationship followed equally blunt condemnation of the housing announcement from the White House and Biden himself. It also comes ahead of a trip to the region by U.S. Mideast peace envoy George Mitchell and a meeting in Moscow next week of the Quartet of Mideast peacemakers that Clinton will attend. Hours after the call to Netanyahu, the Quartet – the U.S., European Union, United Nations and Russia – denounced the Israeli announcement in a statement from the world body's headquarters in New York where Clinton was addressing a commission on the status of women and meeting with U.N. chief Ban Ki-moon. "The Quartet has agreed to closely monitor developments in Jerusalem and to keep under consideration additional steps that may be required to address the situation on the ground," the statement said. It did not elaborate on what steps it would consider but said the Quartet members "would take full stock of the situation" when they meet in the Russian capital next Friday. The Quartet has long urged both Israel and the Palestinians not to take any steps that could hinder peace talks. Crowley stressed that the United States objected to both the content and timing of the announcement and said Clinton had "reinforced that this action had undermined trust and confidence in the peace process and in America's interests." Netanyahu has apologized for the timing, though not the substance, of the announcement to approve 1,600 new homes for Jews in east Jerusalem. The international community does not recognize Israel's annexation of east Jerusalem – captured in the 1967 Mideast war – and the Palestinians see that part of the city as their own future capital. Earlier Friday, an Israeli cabinet minister said the government is moving to amend the country's planning procedures on sensitive political decisions because of the embarrassing diplomatic flap. Netanyahu has said he was not aware the announcement was going to be made during Biden's visit. The Israeli announcement enraged the Palestinians and Arab states, jeopardizing the proximity talks Mitchell is to mediate. An Arab League advisory committee has already withdrawn its endorsement of the discussions. In a bid to salvage those negotiations, Mitchell and the top U.S. diplomat for the Middle East, Jeffrey Feltman, called Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, Arab League chief Amr Moussa and the foreign ministers of Egypt, Jordan, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates over the past two days, Crowley said. Last Edited: March 13, 2010, 5:46 am March 12, 2010, 8:02 pmFuneral Home's Minivan Towed With Corpse In ItA funeral van carrying a body was towed from Redden's Funeral Home on West 14th Street.
Smith for NewsFuneral director Paul DeNigris said the minivan had a windshield placard (below), but admitted it had fallen flat and was hard to detect. Smith for News On the road to eternal peace, a body left inside a funeral home minivan wound up at hell on earth: the city tow pound. The unscheduled stop came after a police tow truck hooked the illegally parked vehicle outside Redden's Funeral Home on W. 14th St. The dearly departed was soon heading for a lot off the West Side Highway, with the truck driver handling the last rights - and a few lefts - on the ride through Chelsea. Funeral director Paul DeNigris said he nearly died after walking outside the business Monday afternoon to find his client no longer resting in peace. "I was just a wreck," DeNigris told the Daily News. "I was frantic. When something like that happens, you go into panic mode." The corpse was finally rescued after 90 undignified minutes in Manhattan's most miserable locale, trapped amid scofflaws and irate out-of-towners. DeNigris had parked his silver 2002 Dodge in a "No Parking Anytime" zone outside the funeral home. The body, in a white cardboard box, was headed for Newark Airport and a flight to Miami for cremation. DeNigris said he stepped inside to pick up some paperwork, took a phone call, and returned to find ... nothing. "The car was just gone," he said yesterday. The NYPD said the van was ticketed at 9:22 a.m. - and then towed nearly three hours later, at 12:07 p.m. "There was nothing to indicate it was more than just an illegally parked car," said NYPD Deputy Commissioner Paul Browne. The terrified DeNigris was at the pound within minutes, explaining his improbable plight and showing his funeral home paperwork. "I tried not to be too loud," he recounted. "I didn't want to scream, 'I'm the guy from the funeral home with the car with the person in the back.' "We try to be discreet." The car and its human cargo were returned at 1:40 p.m., with Redden driving to Newark in time to put the body on the Florida flight. He declined to provide any information about the victim. DeNigris said the minivan had a windshield placard reading "Funeral Director on Official Business," but acknowledged it had fallen flat and was hard to detect. The van's tinted windows helped obscure the box packed in its rear, he said. Redden's will start putting signs identifying its vehicles in the rear and side windows to prevent a repeat. The tow pound, in a show of respect despite the bizarre circumstances, waived the $185 fee when returning the minivan. DeNigris said he planned to fight the $115 parking ticket, claiming a funeral business vehicle transporting a body is immune to parking regulations. If he loses, DeNigris said, that's the cost of doing business in the city. "It's frustrating," he said. "It's aggravating. But this is New York City. Things like this are not uncommon."
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The principal at the Institute of Business and Entrepreneurship High School recruited teachers to sell cosmetics. (Gene Sweeney Jr., Baltimore Sun / March 10, 2010)
